GONE
TOMORROW afternoon  at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Georgetown will take place, from 3 o’ clock, the funeral of a Guyanese Jesuit priest who had the courage to change the character and image of the weekly ‘Catholic Standard’ newspaper.

He was to set the tone for a valid crusading journalism over a six-year period of editorship at a most challenging phase in Guyana’s post-independence struggle for freedom and justice.

The priest being remembered  here was Fr. Harold Wong. He died at the Mercy Hospital on Good Friday (April 2), two days after admission, suffering from renewed complications resulting from his long battle with diabetes.

Fondly hailed as “Harold” by parishioners and non-Catholics who had the pleasure to know him –  not just as priest but a nationalist with strong commitment to basic human rights, social justice and racial harmony in a divided society – Fr Wong would have been 80 this coming July.

Coincidentally, his passing came on the very date, four years ago, of the staunchly Catholic intellectual, well known regional technocrat and social commentator, Lloyd Searwar, who was a very influential ally of this first Guyanese priest to have served as editor of the Standard.

His appointment as editor in March 1967 to succeed Fr Terrence Petry came at age 36. Known for his hearty appetite for laughs during conversations as he spoke during religious, social and political encounters, Harold had made clear what he wished to achieve as editor of the Standard.

As recorded, he was determined that the Standard would come to reflect  much more than the usual religious news and demonstrate a keen awareness in issues of public interest through analyses and commentaries, presented with fairness and courage.
“I wanted”, he said, “to change the character and image of the Standard to reflect a more militant concern by the (RC) Church for the people…”
He could not have known then, how successful his six-year tenure would prove in transforming an ordinary little religious newspaper of the Catholic Diocese in Georgetown to a much sought after publication by readers of all ethnicities, religious denominations and political persuasions in the face of diminishing freedoms under the prevailing ‘paramountcy’ rule of the People’s National Congress (PNC).

His commitment to a people-focused journalism that transcended denominational associations and theologies was to result in laying the foundation for what his successor, the much more radical and courageous brother priest, Fr Andrew Morrison, was to expand and sustain as a passionate ‘public voice’ from the mid 70s when he assumed editorship of the little “church paper” with a huge reputation.
What the heroic ‘Andy’ Morrison had achieved in his tumultuous years as editor of the Standard could be read in his valuable “JUSTICE” (The Struggle for Democracy in Guyana 1952-1992), published in 1998.
From my perspective, a better linkage could have been reflected in the publication’s chronicling of events from Harold’s editorship of the Standard to that of the more repressive and punishing years when Morrison’s brand of journalism meant so much for Guyanese desperate for change.
Nevertheless, there should be no mistakes about the mutual admiration and personal sacrifices Harold and Andy shared as, separately, they faithfully endeavoured to have the Standard, reflect a quality in print journalism that the mainstream private and public sector-owned media often failed to present.
It is also relevant to recall that as Harold Wong had done during his years with the Standard, Andrew Morrison was to continue and deepen good working relations with the journalists of the local media.
Indeed, Harold was instrumental in providing space at the old Catholic Centre on Brickdam for meetings of media workers that eventually led to the inauguration of a Guyana Institute of Journalists (GIJ) with the helpful guidance of Lloyd Searwar.
The passing of Harold, an admirable  family friend of years, is indeed a very sad occasion, as it would be for thousands of Guyanese at home and abroad who knew him.
As I recalled last week to Fr. Dermot Preston, current Regional Superior of the Society of Jesuits  in Guyana, my wife Dolly, and I, take some comfort from a visit we had last month with Harold at “Arrupe House” in Queenstown.
He was in good spirit as we reminisced on events and experiences over the years. Typically, he sought to downplay the extent of his illness as he shared humorous moments also with our daughter, Donna, and her husband Gregory
Now he is gone – almost six years after the passing of Andy Morrison, who at 85, also had died at the Mercy Hospital after, like Harold, an intense struggle with health problems.